Adi ibn Zayd

Adi ibn Zayd
Born	c. 550 Al-Hirah
Died	c. 600
Occupation	Poet
Spouse	Hind

Adi ibn Zayd al-Ibadi al-Tamimi (Arabic: عَدِيُّ بْنُ زَيْدٍ العِبَادِيُّ التَمِيمِيُ, romanized: ʿAdī ibn Zayd al-ʿIbādī al-Tamīmī; c. 550-600)[1] was a 6th-century Arab Christian poet from an Ibadi family of al-Hirah.[2]

Life

Like his father, Adi ibn Zayd was influenced by Persian culture and served as the secretary (dabir) for Arab affairs under the Sasanian king Hormizd IV (r. 579–590).[3][1] It seems that he went to Constantinople by order of the Sasanian king and brought from there several books.[1] According to Arab sources, he spoke Arabic and Persian and it is likely that as a Nestorian Christian he also spoke Syriac.[4]

He was married to the granddaughter of the Lakhmid ruler al-Nu'man III ibn al-Mundhir (r. 580–602), and is said to have helped al-Nu'man accede to power as ruler of al-Hirah.[5] He is featured in Adî ibn Zayd and the Princess Hind, a tale in the Arabian Nights.^[citation needed]

Around the year 600 he was the victim of a palace intrigue and nothing more is known about him.[1]

Work

Contrary to other poets at the courts of the Arab kings such as Al-Nabigha, no panegyrics by Adi ibn Zayd have been preserved, possibly because his family was already well-known and he therefore did not need to charm the rulers.[1] Preserved are poems on wine, prison, scolding errors of his youth as well as a historical ballad on the defeat of queen Zenobia by the founder of the Lakhmid dynasty, Amr ibn Adi.[6] Among his poems is also one dealing with the biblical creation narrative.[7]

References

1. Toral-Niehoff 2008, p. 239.
2. Peters, Francis E. (1994-04-06). Muhammad and the origins of Islam. SUNY Press. p. 66. ISBN 9780791418765. The next notable figure at al-Hira was Nu'man III who was phylarch there from about 580 AD His accession to power was engineered by the Christian poet Adi ibn Zayd whose family had long been important at Hira
3. Rajabzadeh 1993, pp. 534–539.
4. Toral-Niehoff 2008, p. 240.
5. The Catholic encyclopedia. p. 669. After him reigned Nu'man ibn Mundhir (580–595), who, towards the year 594, was converted to Christianity. His granddaughter, Hind, who was a Christian and of exceptional beauty, was married to the Arab poet 'Adi ibn Zayd.
6. Toral-Niehoff 2008, pp. 239–240.
7. Toral-Niehoff 2008, p. 235.

Sources

• Francesco Gabrieli, "ʿAdī ibn Zaid, il poeta di al-Ḥīrah", in: Rendiconti dell'Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei, classe di scienze morali, serie VIII, vol. I (1946), pp. 81-96 (in Italian).
• Rajabzadeh, Hashem (1993). "Dabīr". Encyclopaedia Iranica, Vol. VI, Fasc. 5. pp. 534–539.
• Seidensticker, Tilman (2009). "ʿAdī b. Zayd". In Fleet, Kate; Krämer, Gudrun; Matringe, Denis; Nawas, John; Rowson, Everett (eds.). Encyclopaedia of Islam (3rd ed.). Brill Online. doi:10.1163/1573-3912_ei3_COM_22804. ISSN 1873-9830.
• Toral-Niehoff, Isabel (2008). "Eine arabische poetische Gestaltung des Sündenfalls: Das vorislamische Schöpfungsgedicht des ʿAdî b. Zayd". In Hartwig, Dirk; Homolka, Walter; Marx, Michael J.; Neuwirth, Angelika (eds.). Im vollen Licht der Geschichte”: Die Wissenschaft des Judentums und die Anfänge der kritischen Koranforschung (PDF) (in German). Würzburg: Ergon. pp. 235–256. ISBN 978-3899134780.

External links

• His poets (Arabic) in poetsgate.com
• Adi bin Zayd and the princess Hind